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Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Sully (2016) in Movies

Jul 15, 2019

Sully (2016)

2016 | Action, Drama

8.2

(28 Ratings)

Movie Rating

“The Miracle on the Hudson” is a story that many are acquainted with and many have forgotten in the seven years since the incredibly miraculous landing of US Airways flight 1549 on January 15, 2009. In Sully, Clint Eastwood brings the attention and focus back to this historic event in order to tell audiences about more than just a forced landing into the Hudson River.

Tom Hanks stars as Chester “Sully” Sullenberger reminding viewers how he can so easily represent a character on screen whether they are fictional or based off of real people. His portrayal of “Sully” demonstrates the varying issues surrounding the events the day of the landing and those that followed. When the events played themselves out in the public, it appeared very “cut and dry.” The film reveals the depth at which the pilots dealt with the stress of the publicity, the investigation, scrutiny, and the reality of facing one’s own mortality.

The story, although generally familiar, is engrossing in its presentation by Eastwood. The story is built in layers to where you get to feel the pain and fear that Sully experiences with this near death experience. We witness how he tries to cope with this situation and struggles with the realization that he accomplished the near impossible. The scenes are not over sensationalized. They are not trite. They allow for a true representation of what took place and all of the people affected by it. The film is an imaginative and thought provoking account of real events. Sully demonstrates to audiences the depth inherent with events, circumstances, and individuals.

“The Miracle on the Hudson” had reporters, investigators, and the general public consumed with numbers; 155 people on board, 208 seconds of total flight, altitude of 2818 ft, 2 engines lost to bird strike, a water temperature of 36 degrees, air temperature of 20 with a wind chill of -5, and 1 pilot who made the right decision that day. It is not the numbers that the film is concerned with, it is the people. Eastwood allows for their stories to be on display and demonstrate the reality that they all faced during the incident and the days that followed. The film is outstanding in displaying the humanity and chaos of the event.

Kudos

LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Love, Death & Robots - Season 1 in TV

Apr 9, 2020

Love, Death & Robots - Season 1

2019 | Animation, Fantasy, Sci-Fi

8.8

(5 Ratings)

TV Season Rating

The beauty of Love, Death and Robots is it's format. An eclectic collection of animated short films, some genuinely brilliant, with a handful of duds, truly gives something for everyone.

There are 18 films on show here, all with something different to offer.
Firstly there were 3 that failed to really resonate with me - Sucker of Souls, When the Yoghurt Took Over, and Alternate Histories. I found these three either slightly boring, or silly for the sake of being silly. There were 2 that sort of floated in the middle - The Dump, and Blind Spot, not bad by any means (none of the shorts are truly bad) but just were sort of there.
Leaving a grand total of 13 shorts that I thought were really really great.

A handful of these realistic CGI entries - namely, Sonnie's Edge, Three Robots, Beyond the Aquila Rift, Shape Shifters (one of the highlights for me), Helping Hand (reminded me of Gravity, in a great way), Lucky 13, and The Secret War.
These lot are lengthier offerings, and boast some good looking CGI animation, bordering on photo realism at times. The run time gives an opportunity for some decent fleshed out stories.
The Secret War in particular is nothing short of breath taking, and may well be my top pick of the whole season.
Elsewhere, we have more cartoony offerings - Suits, a loud animation that features farmers in mech suits fighting aliens. Zima Blue, a beautifully touching story of how a simple robot transcends existence itself - another highlight of the season. Fish Night, a short desert based drama bursting with colour. The animation of this one reminded me of A Scanner Darkly. Good Hunting, a collision of Ancient Chinese stories and a Bioshock style steampunk future. Hard to watch at times, but stunning also - easily would have been my top pick if The Secret War wasn't included.
Rounding it off we have The Witness, and animation that looks like a moving oil painting and reminded me of Mirror's Edge, and Ice Age, a fun short that's the only live action inclusion with CGI flourishes about a civilisation growing in a couple freezer.

It's an ambitious collection of shorts for sure, but like I said, there's something here for everyone. Even the ones that I liked the least are a 6/10 at worst. If you like sci-fi or animation in any shape or form, then check this series out.